This invention relates to the field of braking systems and, in particular, to emergency braking systems.
Vehicular accidents each year result in a tremendous number of casualties and injuries. In addition to the deaths and disabilities that result, the financial costs that result from these accidents can be quite high. The main cause for these losses is human failing. Human errors in areas such as reaction time and perception fail to prevent potentially avoidable accidents. Computers and automated sensors can be used to decrease these reaction and decision times.
Accidents could be prevented with an improvement in the braking system. Traditional vehicular braking systems, whether drum or disc brakes are used, ultimately depend on the interface between the tire and the road. The friction created in this interface is relied upon to stop the vehicle. On wet or icy surfaces, or even on surfaces with loose sand or gravel, the friction force is often inadequate to stop a vehicle in time to avoid a collision, as the vehicle may travel hundreds of feet before stopping.
Potential accidents can frequently be avoided by a decrease in the stopping distance. Supplemental braking systems can be used to assist in stopping a vehicle in a shorter distance. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,507 issued to the present inventor provides an emergency braking system employing an anchor device. The anchor adheres to the road surface and assists and stopping the vehicle in a shorter distance.
The above method would enable a vehicle to decrease its stopping distance and avoid potential collisions. However, it does not address the interface between the road surface and the tire.
The use of adhesives, denoting gummy, gooey, viscous, sticky, and other such substances, affect the interface between the road surface and the tire. For example, in drag racing, particularly with the gigantic rear wheeled xe2x80x9cfunny cars,xe2x80x9d an xe2x80x9cadhesivexe2x80x9d build up occurs when the car spins its wheels against the road prior to acceleration. The present invention is not directed to the physical process utilized in drag racing acceleration or in the subsequent use of the adhesive still on the racing car wheels to supplement the drag chute deceleration. The present invention addresses a need for a supplemental emergency braking system, and causes an adhesive substance to occur at the rear tire interface with the road and initiating and controlling such occurrence to advantage in order to reduce the car""s velocity in an emergency situation.
What is needed therefore, is an emergency braking system that can act supplemental to a vehicles normal braking system, and that can be triggered in a timely manner. Also, a system is needed that can increase the friction force in between a road surface and a tire.
The present invention presents a supplemental emergency braking system. An automated sensor can be included to detect potential collisions and the human operator""s failure to respond in a timely manner. The sensor can trigger the braking system automatically, thus overcoming human failings in reaction time and perception.
The braking system is designed to increase the friction force between the road and the tire. Upon being triggered, an adhesive is deployed onto the road in front of the rear tires, increasing the coefficient of friction on the surface. As the tires come into contact with the adhesive, the vehicle is slowed, decreasing the stopping distance needed to avoid a potential collision.
A variety of adhesives may be used, as well as a variety of deployment systems. A jet rocket may be used to ablate a solid adhesive and spray it onto the road surface. As the ablated adhesive cools on the road, it catches the tires of the vehicle. A cooling jet may also be included to assist in cooling the adhesive after it is deployed to ensure it can grip the tires.
Alternately, glue modules may be forced down onto the road, coating the surface with an adhesive as the modules burst. The modules comprise a matrix that is rubbed onto the road, pushed onto the road mechanically or thrust onto the road with a piston. These modules may also be applied directly to the tires rather than the road surface.
Therefore, it is an aspect of this invention to provide a supplemental emergency braking system.
It is another aspect of the invention to increase the friction force between the road surface and the tires of a vehicle in emergency braking situations.
It is a further aspect of the invention to employ an adhesive to assist in stopping a vehicle in a timely manner.
It is a further aspect of the invention to deploy the emergency braking system in a timely manner to avoid potential collisions.
These aspects of the invention are not mean to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings.